This invention relates generally to dolls, and more particularly to a removable maternity dress for a conventional doll which simulates pregnancy and birth.
A number of prior art devices are known which in some fashion simulate pregnancy and birth of a doll or toy animal. However, elements of social unacceptability have rendered many of these prior art devices unmarketable. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,442 invented by Kaplan. However, this device utilizes an elastic stretchable pouch on the mother doll to impart a realistic pregnant look and which, after removal of the baby doll, conforms to the unpregnant shape of the doll.
An early patent to Overholt in U.S. Pat. No. 1,431,482 discloses a doll capable of carrying a baby doll across its chest held there by snaps. The disclosures in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,551,433 and 2,551,560 teach the use of manikins for mid-wifery instruction and which include an abdominal cavity into which a baby doll may be placed. However, a rigid cap or cover is utilized to cover the pregnancy appearance.
In the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,812,613 to Glass, and 4,183,171to Tarzian, pregnant mother dolls are disclosed which, in the first patent utilizes a spring neck mechanism for expanding the abdomen and, in the later case, relies upon a mechanical cam to simulate a pregnant appearance.
A doll with a pouch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,670 to Cox, an educational toy doll having a cavity covered by a hingedly connected door within which a baby doll may be carried. However, this invention is structured so as to have the appearance of baby doll placement and removal from a frontal opening in the stomach.
Two somewhat more distant inventions related to toy animals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,344 to Kanter and 4,237,649 to Goldfarb.
The present invention provides a more socially acceptable, yet realistic arrangement which includes a removable maternity dress for a conventionally shaped (non-pregnant) doll. Thus, the invention may be totally removed and the doll and its conventional clothes then used in a normal fashion. No additional structure is required to effect the appearance of pregnancy or the simulation of giving birth to a baby doll. The invention, because structured of a loosely fitting maternity dress, will also easily fit over a variety of appropriately sized conventional dolls which may remain fully clothed under the maternity dress. This invention is equally adaptable for wearing and use by small children.